Clay Roses
by KageTora
Summary: An anonymous note was sent to the Hokage with information on Sasuke's whereabouts. Sakura and her ANBU squad are deployed to collect the information and bring Sasuke back home. But all turns against them as Akatsuki appears. What do they want with Sakura?
1. Prologue

**Clay Roses**

Prologue

(Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

* * *

_The day was dark..._

The surrounding forests, now sporting their new green leaves, were being thrown about recklessly. Twigs and large branches alike were strewn across paths and thrown into roads, hindering people of their destinations.

_The fog was heavy..._

Dull and empty, the full moon hung lazily in the air, seeming to be too heavy to stay in the sky. It cast a pale light over the land below, creating dark shadows in every bend in the earth and under every canopy of trees.

_A storm was brewing..._

Five shadows flittered through the tree tops, keeping themselves hidden from the view of any unwanted passers. As the shadows passed through a shaft of pale moonlight, one could see that they all looked the same, save for hair color and their varying masks. They were ANBU.

A pink haired ANBU led the group, running through the trees at a rapid pace, four others following suit. "It's getting late... we should set up camp." came the feminine voice of the pink haired kunoichi.

"Hai..." four other voices answered in unison.

There was a moment of pause before the leader dropped down sharply, the others following not shortly after, vanishing from sight and into the thick underbrush of the forest...

* * *

"Sakura," a violet haired kunoichi came up to said girl. The pink haired kunoichi removed her mask and shook out her blush-colored tresses. "is this where we are going to set up camp?" the young voice wavered up again. The violet haired ANBU removed her mask as well and mimicked Sakura's movements, brushing her long her out behind her. 

Sakura, the pink haired leader, spoke, her wise and feminine voice strong, "Yes, Hinata. Did you bring the tent?" She walked over to where the others had made a small yet sufficient fire. The three around the fire had removed their masks as well and had been warming themselves on the chilly spring night.

"Hai..." came the soft reply.

Sakura turned to a brown haired man sitting next to the fire, "Tancho, help Hinata set up the tent, if you will." Tancho nodded his understanding but reluctantly stood up to help the younger girl set up their living space for the night. Two others remained at the fire, looking up at Sakura's flat face as if expecting orders. "Shino, you stay here and keep the fire going, but keep it small. We don't need any unwanted guests." Shino nodded his understanding as well but stayed where he was, "And, Mai, you can help me collect some water. Hinata spotted a small river a few meters south."

The bleach blonde woman nodded and smiled at her squad leader, "Love to, Darling."

"Good... we don't have much to carry it in, but we'll find a way."

A few minutes later, Mai and Sakura made it silently back to camp, each carrying a small jug of water. They were ninjas after all. Ninjas had their ways of completing their tasks.

"This water is for drinking only. Tomorrow morning we can wash up at the river." Sakura spoke lightly but clear. Placing her and Mai's jugs down near the fire Shino was feeding, the pink haired kunoichi walked over to the tent Hinata and Tancho had set up. "Good work guys, we'll set off tomorrow and find the meeting point. We have until noon to make it there so we'll be able to make it." That said, Sakura walked into the tent, motioning Hinata to follow.

The girls walked into the tent together and a rather large sigh emitted from Sakura as she lay down. "What a day!" she exclaimed, letting out a humongous yawn and plopping down in the spot where she would sleep.

Hinata giggled at her friend's antics, "You're right, we ran all day today. It'd be nice to at least take a break once in a while." she sighed, leaning her head on her gear.

"As long as everyone has their soldier pills, I'm pretty sure we'll be all right."

They sat there quietly, neither making a sound as they listened to the crackling fire outside.

"There's just one thing I would like to change right now..." Sakura spoke, her eyes closed in fatigue. "I'd like to have _two_ separate tents!" Hinata could practically hear the pout in her voice. "Not to be rude or anything, but Shino kinda creeps me out with all those bugs of his. I'm going to be paranoid about that all night." Her small frame shivered.

Shino, like Sakura, hadn't changed much in the six years since they were genin. He still wore sunglasses, though they were a little thicker, and sported a new jacket that covered more than his previous ones. Shino was always one to stay hidden. As an Aburame, he still had his kikai bugs, crawling through his body. A fact that Sakura found absolutely revolting.

The shy kunoichi let out a matching laugh, "Shino's bugs won't escape him. They understand that he's basically the boss of them."

"That doesn't help much."

The two kunoichi laughed quietly to themselves but looked up as Mai suddenly entered the tent with them.

Mai was a beautiful woman to say the least. Her hair was obviously bleached blonde from a darker color... most likely a dirty blonde. But the way she wore it, it just looked good. Her face was coated with makeup, a little too much for Sakura's taste, but whatever Mai did just seemed to be perfect. She had ordered her ANBU pants a size too small, claiming that it would help her move more efficiently... but Sakura knew it was just to attract boys, or Tancho. She and Tancho were now 'together' from what she had observed.

"You guys seem wiped. Already turning in?" she giggled, taking off all of her weapons and gear, setting them on the spot she would be sleeping.

"Naturally." Sakura answered with a hint of sarcasm. It may have seemed like Sakura and Mai weren't on good terms, but they were actually good friends. She didn't compare to Ino of course. Not even close. Mai became her friend once she entered ANBU, since Sakura was her squad captain.

The pink haired girl turned toward Hinata once again, "So you aren't one bit against sharing a tent with two other guys?" she asked carefully.

Hinata blushed a light red, "Um... I know Tancho won't do anything, he's with Mai. Shino..." she started, blushing harder, "He's my friend. We were teammates!" her dark locks fell in front of her face as she looked down in her embarrassment. Since Hinata joined ANBU, she became less timid and lost her nervous stutter. It seemed that the more people she assassinated, the more strength she seemed to posses. Her personality hardened with both physical and mental scars; and when Sakura thought about that, she sometimes pitied the younger girl.

Sakura smiled up at her, "I guess you're right, Hinata." She fell back once again on her travel pack and rested her eyes. "As long as you're between me and someone else, I'll be fine." She ended with a giggle.

The bleach blonde woman nudged Sakura's left hand with her foot. "Make room, little kunoichi. Five ANBU will have to fit in here. We can't have you taking up _all_ the room, now can we?" She laughed heartily, plopping down next to Medic Nin.

Sakura decided to ask, "Why couldn't we invest in _two_ tents?"

A deep sigh came from her left, "Because, dear Sakura, ninjas are about stealth. It's a risk even bringing a tent in the first place. Enemies could spot us and ambush us in an instant."

Sakura rolled onto her stomach. "I guess..." her voice muffled by her arms.

After the boys came in from their watch, Mai and Hinata went out for their own. Sakura drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

A shaft of sunlight made its way into the tent, waking Mai, Tancho and Sakura. The younger kunoichi rubbed the sand out of her eyes and sat up groggily, stretching her sleep laden muscles. To her left, Mai and Tancho simply stayed still, though they both let out identical yawns. Sakura let out an annoyed sigh and got up grudgingly.

There was no food to eat, nor was there time to eat it, and glancing at the horizon, Sakura could tell that it was at least six in the morning. They took some time to wake themselves up and get a drink from the water Mai and Sakura brought back the night before, and after cleaning up headed out.

The sky had opened up slightly by the time they headed out for the meeting spot Tsunade-dono had sent them to. Before the five of them set out, Tsunade had received an anonymous note, apparently knowing some information on one of the Sanin; Orochimaru and his little 'pet' Sasuke. Tsunade had thought of this as 'too good to be true', as did Sakura, but when she heard Tsunade talking to her about it in the hospital, she immediately jumped for a position on the team. Tsunade had agreed, though reluctantly, and sent her, Hinata, Shino, Mai and Tancho out as her team. She had the team as a mixture of healing, genjustsu, and close, distanced and mid-ranged fighting styles.

The team was to be traveling to Iwagakure; The Village Hidden in the Rocks. The very same country that had fought with Konoha. They were taking the southern route and passing through Takigakure; The Village Hidden in a Waterfall. There, they would presumably meet up with the people who sent the mission request.

They were just on the border to Takigakure and they could already feel the humidity hanging lazily in the air. This village was famously known for its gigantic waterfall, as the name suggests.

The five ANBU landed in a clearing, a small stream had branched from the main one and they all stopped to get themselves a drink. "Okay," started the squad captain, "We are just going to stop here for a while. We still have plenty of time left to get to Iwa... We'll take a rest and continue as soon as we're ready."

As soon as her words were spoken, Mai and Tancho slumped comically to the ground. "Finally! It's so humid here, it's messing up my hair..." at that, everyone turned to stare unbelievably at the vain blonde. Though, everyone thought better of saying something and continued with their previous activities.

Tancho was splashing water on his face, his mask discarded to his right along with his hitai-ate. His dark brown locks fell into his face and he brushed them aside with a wet hand. Tancho... was one person Sakura could say she didn't like. To her, he was rude, lazy, and never treated her with respect. It was as if he didn't care whether or not she was the Hokage or some shinobi-in-training at the academy. But since he started going out with Mai, he seemed to become nicer to her. For instance, the night before when she asked him to help Hinata with the tent... she was surprised when he had agreed. Normally he would ask what her problem was and he could make his own choices without being told what to do.

He was just a 'punk', as Tsunade would put it.

His eyes always seemed to be tired and his dark brown hair was cut to the middle of his neck. His eyes were an unusual shade of green, the same color as Mai's actually. Though Mai's were darker in shade.

Overall, Sakura just didn't like him. It wasn't hate... but definitely not _like._

After a little break, the five of them were getting ready to leave. They gathered up their masks and were just about to leave when an odd sound came from the bushes to their right. All five ANBU threw several shuriken into the same bush and heard the sound again... though more pronounced.

"Hinata," Sakura made her silent demand.

A confident nod came from the violet haired kunoichi as she closed her eyes. Hinata made a hand sign and opened her eyes harshly, veins surrounding her temples, "Byakugan!"

The rest waited silently as their Byakugan user searched the bushes.

Four heads turned as Hinata gasped suddenly, "Aka... Akatsuki!"

* * *

**A/N- Okay! Please tell me how you liked the first chapter of my new story! I don't have an editor and I have really bad common sense. Hehe... Well, please tell me how I did. No flames please, they are really unbecoming.**


	2. Chapter One: Not Without a Fight

**Clay Roses**

Chapter One - _Not Without a Fight_

(Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

* * *

_The rest waited silently as their Byakugan user searched the bushes._

_Four heads turned as Hinata gasped suddenly, "Aka... Akatsuki!"_

Without Sakura's commands, the whole group dropped into the respective fighting positions.

Sakura, being trained to fight by the Godaime Hokage herself and having perfect chakra control, was taught to keep her hands free of chakra until she was about to attack. So her hands traveled to her projectile holsters, removing several kunai.

Shino already had some of his bugs out, they flew around protectively. Hinata dropped into the Hyuuga fighting style of Juuken. They both kept their old fighting styles but naturally new more attacks and jutsus.

Mai was getting ready to use her genjustsu. Her, along with Sakura, were both very skilled with genjutsu. As opposed to Sakura, Mai loved using genjutsu but was also highly skilled with the standard ANBU katana. Sakura was glad that she was friends with her, she would never want to get into a fight and have to be exposed to her genjutsus. The illusions she projected were mentally straining and have been rumored to make even a jonin go crazy. As she is a master of illusion, she uses senbon as her primary projectile.

Sakura looked over to Tancho. She didn't entirely trust him, and she didn't think it was mere coincidence that Akatsuki just showed up here, out of all places!

Tancho, unlike Mai, was highly skilled in Taijustsu. He sticks mostly to kicking as opposed to using his fists and his ninjustsus are mainly earth-based. Sakura knew his weapons as well. He has the standard ANBU weapons as well as the standard shinobi projectiles, but also has a hidden blade in his arm guard for emergencies.

Sakura felt reassured. Tsunade's choice in ANBU was strong and efficient. _'Okay... as with all Akatsuki run-ins, capture is the first objective...' _She looked up as she saw familiar cloaks behind the bushes in front of her team. _'If it's not possible... kill...' _

"Crap..." she heard one of them curse. To Sakura, the voice sounded all too familiar. The next moment, the blue skinned Kisame stumbled out of the bushes, nursing his blood stained cheek. "Of course I get hit..." he spoke under his breath. Next to the shark man appeared Itachi, as silent and deadly as the last time she saw him... if not more.

Sakura bared her teeth in a small snarl, though unseen from behind her mask, _'He looks too much like Sasuke...'_ She thought menacingly. Without giving them or herself time to think, she lashed out at Itachi, kunai in hand. She had gotten much faster within her six years of training, now 18, Sakura had made into a perfect ANBU shinobi. She was advanced in healing jutsus and perfect chakra control.

But Sakura didn't have the sharingan. However, the person she was attacking did. Itachi, having the sharingan, was always a step ahead of her. He saw Sakura coming at him with a kunai and grabbed her right wrist in his strong hands. Enraged that he could act all cool while she was attacking him, she charged her free hand with chakra and aimed for his smug face. _'Maybe if I kill Itachi for him, Sasuke will come back!!' _she screamed in her head.

He caught this fist as well and Sakura saw his eye twitch. She flinched as he leaned in slowly, scrutinizing her with his devilish eyes. They flicked to his left, "Kisame," he called out to his companion. Sakura winced at his voice, _'He sounds like Sasuke... and smells like him too...' _Her eyebrow twitched at the thought.

The pink haired kunoichi looked over to Itachi's companion on her right, Shino and Mai were fighting him with everything they had. They knew exactly what they had to do. "Is this the one?" Came her captor's indifferent inquiry.

Kisame dodged a face-full of kikai, "Seems like it." he said while blocking a shower of senbon with his Samehada.

Sakura froze, they were here for _her_?! What did she have to do with anything? She noticed a small movement behind Itachi and she was glad she had her mask on, otherwise the Akatsuki member would have seen her smirk.

Hinata, low on the ground in her Juuken position, threw her arm out to strike his back. Itachi's eyes widened slightly and he turned to see his attacker. Sakura took this chance to kick his knee, forgetting to charge it with chakra in her haste. Her attack was successful as Itachi dropped her to the ground. She landed hard and stupidly looked back up at Itachi, who growled deeply at her, "...Hindrance."

Sakura mentally flinched as she heard Itachi's insult. It's been ages since she's even called _herself_ a hindrance!

Hinata had already attacked and, although she missed, went in for another attack, locking her rage filled eyes with his blood stained ones through her mask. Sakura felt a pang of horror; Hinata doesn't know how Itachi's sharingan worked! The Medic nin forced her voice to work, "Hinata! Don't look at his ey-"

She never finished her warning and was cut of by a blood curdling shriek. The Byakugan user dropped heavily to her knees and clutched her head in agony. She could tell the others had paused in their fights to worry over her. Sakura looked up at Itachi in fury, charging her right hand with chakra and let loose upon the Uchiha. Hoping to punch through his left shoulder blade and thrust through his heart.

Another rush of terror as Itachi ducked her deadly punch.

The last thing she felt was the stinging pain on the top of her head as she fell to the ground. Around her, Hinata was curled into a ball on the ground behind Itachi and Mai was next to her, urging her to sit up and stay awake. To her right, Shino and Tancho were teaming up against Kisame. The fight wasn't in their favor. _'Come on guys...'_ she thought warily.

Her eyes clouded and black took over her vision. Battle cries and screams reached her ears and everything blended together in a flurry of sound. She couldn't even distinguish male from female anymore. A moment later, as the noises subsided she heard a small conversation to her left.

"Arigato..."

"Don't mention it..."

* * *

**A/N– I know I left you on a bit of a cliffy and this chapter was a little bit shorter than the first. But I hope you enjoyed it all the same! -looks at clock- I should get to bed... it's about 2:40 in the morning. Hehe... Review!**


	3. Chapter Two: Captured

**Clay Roses**

Chapter Two -_ Captured_

(Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

**In case you get confused, I made a key:**

"Speech" // _'Sakura's thoughts' // '__**Inner Sakura**__'_

* * *

_Her eyes clouded and black took over her vision. Battle cries and screams reached her ears and everything blended together in a flurry of sound. She couldn't even distinguish male from female anymore. A moment later, as the noises subsided, she heard a small conversation to her left._

"_Arigato..."_

"_Don't mention it..."_

* * *

Her lids seemed heavy as she tried opening them, but soon regretted it when the sunlight triggered a web of pain throughout her head. Sakura vaguely wondered why she was feeling this much pain and the reason why she had awaken. 

A freezing drop of rain plunged down onto the back of her neck as she realized it was raining. The rain had woken her up.

She moved to wipe it away but panic flooded through her as her arms wouldn't move! It was as if her arms her being pinned... or _tied_ in place! Had her head not been in so much pain, she would have tuned to see that her hands were tied securely behind her back. Though her head hurt as though someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, Sakura struggled, also realizing she wasn't on the ground as she felt the familiar rhythm of someone walking.

Fortunately, her mask was still on, protecting her face from the offending rain droplets that fell darkly to the earth below. The jade eyes behind her raccoon-based mask flicked every which way, trying to find a way to move. She looked down at her legs and felt a new wave of terror wash over her. A blue hand was clutching her legs! It was then that she took in her surroundings, she was being carried by Kisame! _'__**That took you long enough...**__' _Inner Sakura chided

Frantically, Sakura thrashed, ignoring the sweep of pain every time she moved. Her instincts were kicking in, and her instincts told her that these men were going to hurt her. The ropes around her wrists rubbed the skin raw and the pink haired shinobi let out a cry of pain.

"It seems like she's awake..." Itachi's voice drifted to her ears.

Sakura looked in the direction his voice came from, even though she couldn't see him, she retorted, "Very observant! Did you have to use the sharingan to figure that out?!" she hissed sarcastically. Kisame's hands gripped even tighter and she bit her lip to keep from yelling.

The shark man looked over at his companion, "Feisty, I like her." he chuckled wickedly.

Sakura groaned in annoyance, hiding her relief. '_At least they didn't hurt me too bad for that remark...'_ she thought, closing her eyes in defeat. Further back in her mind, Inner Sakura was triumphant, '**Shannaro! That's pay back for calling me a hindrance!**'

The rain was now pouring down hard, but Sakura couldn't care less. She was now soaked down to the bone and wouldn't be surprised if she caught a cold later.

The way Kisame was carrying her was getting quite irritating and uncomfortable and every few minutes she would squirm to get into a more comfortable position. Undoubtably, this was getting on the shark man's nerves, and Sakura was glad for that fact.

They were walking for several hours and Sakura's anger was rising quickly. Both of her legs had fallen asleep and her arm –which was trapped between her body and Kisame's– had also fallen asleep.

It was about time she said something. "Hey, do you mind if I walk? Apparently, no one realizes how uncomfortable being held for two hours is."

"No." was the bland reply from the Uchiha.

"Okay then... may I ask why this is taking so long then? Ninjas would normally be running at top speed."

"That is none of your concern."

'_Itachi is so... eh.' _"Well then... are we almost there?"

Itachi's irritation was shown by a twitch of his eyebrow. "Kisame," his voice was low and dangerous, "I do not see how she mixes into our goals."

A humored laugh broke from the blue skinned man, "Once you speak to Leader, everything will be clear." he replied easily.

Silence fell over the trio as they walked. Sakura was getting restless, "Are we almost there?" she asked innocently. She normally wouldn't ask this many questions or be so intentionally annoying, but this was Akatsuki! They were trying to –and have successfully– kidnaped her, it seemed like it was mandatory to irritate them to the ends of the Earth. It seemed as though they weren't trying to harm her.

This made Sakura think about her situation. And it peeved her to no end that she had no idea what her situation actually _was_.

Well, yeah, she_ was_ being kidnaped, but for what purpose exactly? Did it have something to do with Sasuke?! Her mind raced as she remembered the letter from Tsunade-dono. She never really read it but she was told that it was made out as 'anonymous'. Of course Akatsuki wouldn't put:

_Dear, Godaime Hokage ----- We have information concerning the whereabouts of Sasuke Uchiha. We thought that Konoha, being his home village, would like to search for him. So send some of your ANBU to Takigakure and we shall meet with them there. A healing Nin would be helpful, seeing that Orochimaru has strong subordinates. –Sincerely, Akatsuki._

Sakura held back her laughter as she thought about Itachi, or any other Akatsuki member actually _writing_ something._ 'Too domestic!'_ she thought about that, _'I wonder if they cook and clean too?'_

* * *

Four blurred shadows made their way through the trees once more. Bruises littered their bodies and blood caked onto their skin, whether it was theirs or not, they didn't care. 

Hinata, leading the group, panted heavily, "Sh-Shino-kun, what are we going to tell Tsunade-dono?" she asked nervously between breaths.

The silent bug-user pulled up next to the sky kunoichi, "We will tell her exactly what happened. I think she can handle being told that her pupil was kidnaped."

"Somehow, I doubt that, Shino-kun..." she kicked off on the next branch to keep herself suspended in the air, "Sakura-chan was very close to her. She might overreact."

The sunglasses wearing shinobi copied her movements and kicked off another branch, "You never know, Hinata. It won't do any good to lie to the Hokage, though." Hinata thought over his wise words and looked over her shoulder at the other two shinobi following them. They were having a hushed conversation and Tancho looked quite nettled. Deciding to cease their fighting, the violet haired shinobi spoke up.

"Mai-san, what should we tell Godaime-dono?" her timid voice barely reaching the feuding couple.

Mai flicked her bleach blonde hair out of her face, landing it behind her shoulder, "We should tell her the facts. Akatsuki showed up and stole our squad leader. We tried to capture them but our medic Nin was knocked unconscious so we had to flee, lest we got injured and were unable to return back." Her voice was forlorn and her mask-covered face was turned downward at her feet.

Hinata kept her Byakugan up, keeping watch for any unwanted visitors as they made their way back to Konoha. "Come on... we'll get her back soon." Tancho's voice assured the others, "We just have to remain calm and wait until we get word from Tsunade."

The four shinobi ran silently for a while, keeping themselves concealed within the shadows and moving quickly. "Hai..." Hinata whispered, "Sakura will be safe."

* * *

After another hour of traveling, the two Akatsuki and Konoha kunoichi stopped at a small clearing along a side road. 

Sakura was sleeping restlessly. "Do you think it'll work, Itachi?"

"I do not exactly know, Kisame. I wasn't really sure what part she played in the plans as well. But as long as Leader says so... we shouldn't complain."

"Leader says she'll help lure the Kyuubi out. I don't really see how _this_ girl could do that, but I guess it doesn't really matter as long as it works." the fish man admitted. "The Jinchuuriki is all that matters."

The two fell silent once again. They weren't really men of many words. But Kisame broke the silence once again, "She kinda does have a point... why weren't we running again?" a lazy sigh as he leaned against a tree.

Itachi, silent, didn't answer for a while and sat against another tree, "Well... I don't know actually." Another silence fell, though it was quite uncomfortable. "We probably would have made it by now had we have run. But Deidara and Tobi wanted to catch up with us from Kusagakure. It seems some Grass ninja were giving them some trouble..."

Kisame understood and turned his attention to the pink haired shinobi sleeping in-between Itachi and himself. Kidnaping wasn't one of his favorite things to do, but if Leader told him to capture someone for him, he would do it without a moment's hesitation. Another sneak glance was sent in her direction. Though he did feel kind of bad about it though. She was strong and quite spunky, undoubtably having many friends. But he was Akatsuki! Feel bad for the enemy... Ha!

"We should get moving again. The rain seems to have let up a bit." Itachi said before getting up. "March seems to be a really rainy month..."

The shark man looked down to Sakura and picked her up again, being careful not to wake her. Sure he was a S-ranked criminal... but he still had _somewhat_ of a heart. Kisame followed Itachi back onto the road and they both continued walking.

"Deidara and Tobi aren't that far away... they should be able to catch up in a few minutes. A few Grass shinobi shouldn't give them too much of a hassle." Kisame chuckled at Itachi's comment and adjusted Sakura in his arms.

"I wonder what they're gonna think about our little cherry blossom..."

* * *

**Thanks to my reviewers! Getting reviews makes me want to write more!** xD 

**A/N–** **I tried making this chapter a bit longer. I hope you enjoyed it! I have most of the plot planned out so you'll be able to figure out the whole situation soon enough. I got some help from my mom. She was quite confused with the whole 'Naruto world' thing. Like... a Hokage is a what now?** (Lol) **I just need to figure out what's going to happen to Sakura once she gets to Akatsuki's base... If you have any idea's, feel free to _tell me_. Well, TTFN! REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter Three: Bad News

**Clay Roses**

Chapter Three - _Bad News_

(Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

* * *

"_Deidara and Tobi aren't that far away... they should be able to catch up in a few minutes. A few Grass shinobi shouldn't give them too much of a hassle." Kisame chuckled at Itachi's comment and adjusted Sakura in his arms._

"_I wonder what they're gonna think about our little cherry blossom..."_

* * *

Konohagakure, The Village Hidden in the Leaves, was a very peaceful little village. The streets were filled with venders and stores and villagers happily walked along with their children and friends, enjoying the happiness of the spring afternoon. 

But in the center of the village stood the Hokage's tower... housing a very tired and very hungover Tsunade. Currently, the Hokage was sifting through papers and forms, pretending to care for the most part. Most of the papers were mission requests that she would hand over to the mission people later on in the day... once she sorted them all. And the forms were _probably_ things she wouldn't want to look at so she discarded them at the corner of her book-cluttered desk.

The last thing she wanted now was people screaming their heads off at her.

"Tsunade-shishou! Tsunade-shishou!"

Said woman clutched her head in agony, her headache pounded against her skull with every word Shizune yelled out.

Shizune burst into her master's office, Ton-Ton in her arms, "Tsunade-shishou! The ANBU you sent out yesterday are back." her concerned words drifted into the room.

No matter how much her headache was killing her, Tsunade was forced to look up at her sidekick. "What? They shouldn't be back until at least another week or so." her eyebrows knit together in frustration. "Unless something has happened..." she said to herself.

Her eyes snapped back to Shizune's, "Please send them in here immediately." sitting back into her over-sized chair she glared at her desk, watching Shizune leave from the corner of her eyes. "I am _really _not in the mood for this..." she mouthed.

* * *

Just entering Iwagakure, the two Akatsuki members ambled slowly along the tree line, knowing they were far enough from the main village to be seen. Kisame, still holding Sakura –albeit against her will– made his way along next to his sharingan-bearing partner. 

The shark man was getting annoyed at how long this was taking and decided that he should voice it to Itachi, "Shouldn't Deidara and Tobi have been here about twenty minutes ago?" He was hesitant to ask, but walking all the way from Takigakure to the far western end of Iwagakure was just plain boring and unnecessary as far as he was concerned.

"Yes."

Kisame had to admit, Itachi wasn't a very talkative man. "Oh?" came his unsure reply. "Then shouldn't they kind of... you know, _be here?_" he asked again, trying to be more specific by emphasizing some words.

"...Yes." He spoke as his blood-red eyes shot to Kisame's own beady ones. Realizing that he had irked him enough within the hour, he turned his attention to his left. Trees. Amazing.

A sudden tremor shot through the ground at that moment and both Akatsuki members turned their attention in the direction it had come from. Up in the sky, was a weird and rather large bird with two people crouched upon it.

"Deidara and Tobi are here now, Kisame. You have no need to ask anymore useless questions regarding their appearance."

Kisame ignored his words as the bird swooped down in front of them, revealing two other people wearing long coal-black cloaks dotted with the recognizable blood-red clouds. "Took you two long enough, did a few Grass shinobi slow you down?" he ended with a rather loud guffaw. He watched as Deidara sent the bird into the distance to detonate it.

"Laugh it up, yeah..." The blonde spat quietly. "The _few_ Grass shinobi you speak of was practically the _whole village_, yeah."

The man with the orange mask popped out from behind his partner, "Yes!" he immediately started skipping around the blonde man, "Deidara-senpai took them all out. With help from me, of course!" beads of sweat dotted Deidara and Kisame's necks.

The former shot his right arm out quickly and latched it to his partner's neck, "Tobi, are we forgetting that I took them _all _out? _Hmm_?" His hand tightened with each emphasized word.

"Deidara, stop suffocating your partner." Itachi ordered smoothly. "We must get back and report our success to Leader." he explained and turned his head slightly to the right.

Promptly, Deidara did as he was told and turned toward the sharingan user, "Success?" Seeing as how Itachi wouldn't be giving him an answer he turned toward Kisame but froze. "Kisame? Why are you holding that... girl?" His eyes narrowed as he spotted a patch of blush colored hair.

The shark man smirked, "This is our success. Our goal was to capture one pink haired, green-eyed kunoichi." He motioned toward the sleeping girl in his arms. "It'd be best not wake her up then... she can get quite annoying when she's awake."

The blonde's eyebrow gave a small twitch, "Why _her_?" He dug his hand into his clay bag, understanding why everyone wasn't walking. "What will she do? Cook for us? Clean the Headquarters?" he suggested, an evil glint in his eye.

Kisame watched as Deidara's hands molded the clay into a small bird, "She's going to lure the Kyuubi out."

"I'm not going to even ask how." he placed the bird on the ground and did his usual hand signs, expanding the bird so that everyone could ride on it comfortably. "It'd probably be way too complicated anyway." Jumping aboard, Deidara joined Itachi and Tobi on the large clay bird. The three waited for Kisame to join them before they headed off.

"Probably." Kisame agreed. "Especially since not many of us really understand the meaning of 'friendship'." He leaped into the air skillfully and landed securely on the clay sculpture. "But, again, once we talk more to Leader... we'll all understand soon enough."

* * *

"What do you _mean_ Sakura isn't with you?!" 

"Well, Tsunade-sama, what we mean is that... um.. Sakura-chan," Hinata fumbled for the right words, "isn't... _with us_?" she asked unsurely.

The Hokage just narrowed her eyes into tinier slits, "Well _that_ explanation just clears everything up." Her eyes swept over the village swiftly, "Shino, can you add?" Landing her eyes expectantly on the bug-user.

He hesitantly cleared his throat, "Well, Tsunade-dono, what Hinata is trying to say is that Sakura has gotten kidnaped and _can't_ be with us..." he lowered his eyes behind his dark shades.

Everyone in the room held their breath, awaiting the monstrous screams that would undoubtably occur. But all the shinobi heard in the room was the muted sound of Tsunade sitting back down into her seat. "Mai..."

"Yes, Tsunade-sama?"

"Do you have anything you would like to add?"

"Yes, Ma'am." she defrosted from her spot and took a step forward, "It seems that Akatsuki have kidnaped Sakura. The members there were Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. Itachi was the one who knocked her unconscious." she explained carefully.

"How about you, Tancho? Can you add?" The Hokage's voice was flat, devoid of emotion.

Tancho cleared his throat nervously, "Um... Well, Itachi also used his sharingan on Hinata when both she and Sakura were fighting the Uchiha. After that, Sakura got knocked unconscious from a hit to the head; with a weapon no doubt." he began, "We then realized that our Medic Nin was out of commission and if we got injured, we may not make it back. So then we fled back to Konoha, hoping to get some reinforcements."

The four ANBU stood there patiently as their Hokage sat in her chair. Feelings of grief and unease filled the room.

"I see..." Tsunade finally said. "You made a wise decision. Who knows if they would have taken any of you four as well." Tancho nodded his head in thanks.

"But," she began, "this means we have to send out more ANBU and shinobi to go looking for her." Restless, Tsunade stood up once again to stare forlornly out of the large picture window behind her desk. "The only problem is that we have no idea where they are headed."

"At least we got rid of _one_ member. Sakura and Chiyo took out Akasuna no Sasori recently."_**(A/N - I'm deciding to leave Kakuzu and Hidan out. Sorry.)**_Her eyes clouded over with grief, "That act alone might save us a few ANBU shinobi..." she trailed off.

The room grew quiet once again. Mai finally broke the silence, "When are we going to send out the ANBU? We have to get her back soon." Her voice was emotionless.

Tsunade whipped around suddenly, her blonde hair landing neatly over her right shoulder, "I still need time to accept Sakura's _kidnaping_. Do you expect me to think about rescuing her right now?!" everyone stood quiet, not commenting on the shimmering line that trailed down the Hokage's cheek. "Please leave my office. You four are dismissed."

The four shinobi bowed in respect before trudging slowly out of the door. Shizune looked up at her Master sadly. "Would you like some sake, Tsunade-shishou?" her voice was low.

The blonde's shoulders shook lightly with uncontrollable sobs, but her voice was strong, "Hai..."

* * *

'_Ugh... why is the sky moving so fast?'_

Sakura had finally woken up, the pain in her body gone for the most part and it wasn't so bright anymore. She tried to sit up, seeing Kisame's blue skin only a foot away. "What's the big deal, Fish-face? It's called personal space!" her teeth bared defensively.

Kisame laughed widely, "There's not much personal space where we are, kunoichi." he gestured below him at the bird-shaped clay sculpture.

Deidara turned around slowly, glaring at the girl in front of Kisame, "Who are you? You seem familiar, hmm..." His eyes roamed over her apparel, he was sure he'd never seen this ANBU before.

Sakura froze instantly, _'I know that voice...'_ Her head whipped around quickly, effectively slapping the shark man in the face with her longer hair. Her green eyes widened considerably once she figured out who he was. _'D...Deidara...'_ Deep in her mind she was equally shocked, _'__**That's Sasori's partner!**__'_ She gathered what little strength she had left to speak, "Why would you want to know? I consider you all my kidnapers." her voice was powerful and her eyes narrowed into furious slits.

The blonde man snickered, "Hey, I wasn't the one who caught you, yeah. Besides, it's not my fault you were so easy to catch, hmm? Itachi said all he had to do was touch your head and you were out like a light." His eyes flashed with humor. Deidara turned his head to face forwards once again.

The kunoichi glared at the clay sculptor with furious enraged jade eyes. If looks could kill, he'd have fallen off the bird and got impaled by a tree by now. _'How dare he just insult me?'_

"Do any of you guys mind if I jump off right now?" she asked innocently, ending her question with an uneasy laugh.

* * *

**Thank you, reviewers! Your comments make me want to write more for you. Remember, I still need IDEAS for what happens with Sakura once she gets to the Headquarters. You might be able to get your idea used in here, I'll thank you if I use it.**

**A/N–** _**Phew... I don't believe I already have 4 chapters up now. I guess I should get a lot in before I start school. I have about 10 days, so expect updates!**_


	5. Chapter Four: Arrival

**Clay Roses**

_Chapter Four - Arrival_

(Disclaimer - I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

_I would like to thank__** kakashisninjadogs**__ for giving me an idea (That I will use). And I guess my cousin Hunter, though I'm still thinking about his idea_.

_And_ _I _think_ I now have a Beta, so maybe it wont be _as_ horrendous from now on. Thank you so much, Leafy!_

* * *

_The kunoichi glared at the clay sculptor with furious jade eyes. If looks could kill, he'd have fallen off the bird by now and got impaled by a tree by now. 'How dare he insult me!'_

"_Do any of you guys mind if I jump off right now?" she asked innocently, ending her question with an uneasy laugh._

* * *

The first thought that flew through Sakura's mind was that the room was dark.

She had been awake for a while now, and was now laying on an old futon in a very dark room. She didn't bother getting up to explore her new surroundings; she wouldn't be able to see anything with the darkness obscuring her vision.

From what she could tell, the room had no windows. Not surprising, considering she was a prisoner. Why would they provide her with an exit, let alone a view?

She also noticed that the room held no source of light. How very helpful. In the darkness, she couldn't even tell how big the room was! It was all extremely frustrating.

She touched the wall next to her, a frown etched onto her face. It was solid concrete, reinforced with iron bars. This was nothing compared to some things she's punched through, but she currently had barely enough chakra to make a _dent_. Her chakra reserves were almost empty, her power siphoned away by an unknown force. She had no idea how they had managed to do that, but it was _extremely _annoying.

The Konoha ninja rolled onto her side, facing what she knew to be the wall. Since she'd woken up, Sakura had been counting the passing minutes. Thus far, she had been awake for half an hour. Who knew how long she had been in there while she was asleep!

Sakura's eyes widened as she heard faint voices come from the other side of the wall. If she strained her ears, she could just barely make out the vague words:

"W-what?! Are you serious, yeah?"

"Calm down. What's going to happen? She has barely any chakra."

"But she's a _shinobi_! She can find a way to escape, yeah."

The voice sighed, "What can one shinobi do without chakra and weapons against other many shinobiwith chakra _and_ weapons?"

The first voice grumbled something incoherently, then said, "But she's the one that killed Sasori no Danna. Don't you think she's capable of _something_? I'm just saying we shouldn't take any chances, hmm."

"If Leader says it's fine, then it's fine." This voice fell silent for a moment before saying, "Itachi has plans for her. We'd best keep her healthy."

From their conversation, she could tell they were talking about her. The voices were steadily drawing closer, so Sakura wasn't really surprised as the door swung open. Light flooded in like water, illuminating the room. She shielded her dazzled eyes from the intense increase in brightness.

As her eyes adjusted, she realized that she was in a cell.

It was a square room with four walls made out of concrete bricks painted over with dark grey paint. As noticed before, there were no windows or light fixtures. The ceiling and floor were both made of poured cement. The futon she was sleeping on was sitting next to the door and was russet in color. She prayed to God that it had been purchased that way.

A dark shadow approached her from the doorway. "Wakey, wakey, little kunoichi," a masculine voice rumbled gruffly as he crouched down in front of her. As the light flooded over his features, she recognized the blue skin of Kisame. "I bet you're hungry." He looked at the still shadow in the threshold. "Deidara, mind escorting our little hostage to the kitchen?" A small snicker followed his inquiry.

The shadow leaning against the doorframe, now identified as Deidara, grumbled, "Hmph... As long as she doesn't irritate me to death before we get there." He pushed his lean frame from the door and made his way into what Sakura thought was a hallway.

The Konoha shinobi looked over at the door, frowning at Deidara's remark. She was snapped back to the current situation by Kisame's strong grip around her wrist. "He's not going to carry you, better get going." He released her, then roughly shoved her back, making her stumble unsteadily through the door and into the bleak hallway.

Though it was clearly still spring, the hallway was oddly cold. The whole stretch of hallway was cement, bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. As Sakura's eyes adjusted once again, she darted down the hallway, chasing after Deidara's retreating form.

* * *

"How are we going to let the Kyuubi know about the girl?" A pair of blood red eyes narrowed, focusing on a single spot.

"Is he in Konoha?" Another pair of eyes opened at the point the red eyes were focused on. They were obscured in shadow, outlined it flickering, multi-colored lights.

"No. He is out training with his mentor, the Sannin Jiraya. We have guessed where he might be."

"I see... send out some bunshin. There is no need to send a subordinate." the voice paused. "He might even... enjoy a visit from you."

"Hai... I understand." The red eyes closed once again, and the voice vanished altogether, leaving the rainbow traced shadow alone in the darkness.

* * *

"_**Rasengan!!**_"

The surrounding forests shuddered violently with force, their newly grown leaves falling to the ground. A shockwave rippled through the trees, making them move like water.

A blonde boy with a Konoha hitai-ate stood in a clearing, sweat clinging to his skin and running down his face in beads. His breathing was labored and his eyes half closed in fatigue, but he pressed on with his task.

Chakra pulsed in his hand, intensifying into an airy blue sphere. His face was twisted into a look of pure determination, almost glaring at the closest tree to him. As soon as the ball of chakra was fairly large, he charged full speed at the closest tree and thrust the rapidly spinning orb towards it. This move is called--

"_**Rasengan!!**_"

The towering tree seemed to ripple for a moment before shattering into thousands of tiny splinters, spraying like mist across the small clearing.

A closer look at the clearing revealed that the whole ground was flooded with woodchips.

The Konoha shinobi's knees shook violently, As if it were nearly impossible for the boy to remain standing. He raised his hand for another go, already starting to gather chakra into his hand.

It was clear he had reached his limit.

He no longer had the strength to support his suddenly heavy frame; his knees buckled and he toppled to the ground.

* * *

"Naruto?" a wise, masculine voice said from the surrounding forest as a wide frame removed itself from the trees. The figure had long and flowing -but spiky- white hair and red lines running from his eyes, as though he were crying tears of blood.

The older man made his way over to the blonde boy. He stared absently at Nauruto and squatted down beside him. "Are you _really_ so stupid as to train until you pass out? It's really not such a good idea.

The blonde simply stared at him, "Where were _you_ the whole time I was training? It's not like you'd be peeking into a bath; we're in the middle of a _forest_, Jiraya."

Jiraya's face twisted in bemusement, "It's not my fault that you're incredibly boring to watch, Naruto." His glare let up and a deep sigh broke from his lips, "I did actually feel a chakra signature around somewhere. I was checking it out."

The blue-eyed boy on the ground crossed his arms childishly across his chest and snorted, "When is my training going to en–"

Suddenly the Sannin extracted two kunai from his robes and launched them into the underbrush around them, "I know you're there. Either you're _really_ bad at concealing your chakra, or you didn't even try."

Silently, the familiar black and red cloak flashed in front of the two Konoha shinobi, not even disturbing the air with its movement. The Akatsuki member opened his eyes, revealing deep crimson irises.

A snarl ripped from Naruto's chest, his teeth bared ferally. "Itachi..."

Itachi simply glared at the Jinchuuriki.

Jiraya avoided the Uchiha's eyes by looking at his shoulders, "Even though I have a good guess, what are you doing here?" he asked, moving protectively in front of his pupil.

Again, Itachi stood, still and silent, switching his gaze between the two Konoha shinobi. A few moments passed by before he spoke, "I'm here to propose a... deal with the Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes flashed red-orange. "We don't make deals with Akatsuki!" Jiraya's arm flinched toward him slightly.

Itachi's face didn't move at all, but humor laced his words as he said, "I think you'll want to after you hear me out." His eyes flicked to Naruto's features, "We have a Miss Haruno Sakura joining us at Headquarters..."

Naruto flung himself at the Uchiha, his nails now longer and sharper, his teeth lengthened into fangs, "_What are you _doing_ with her?!_" Jiraya's ready arm flew out to restrain the enraged Jinchuuriki, wincing as Naruto's claws tried to make a path to Itachi through his arm.

The Akatsuki member didn't even shift his position as Naruto launched at him. His voice was low as he said, "As I was saying... we have Miss Haruno Sakura joining us at Headquarters." Naruto growled quietly at this. "If you want her to return safely, you will also come visit us within the next five days." Itachi turned his gaze to the Sannin then, "You will not need to join him, we wish only for his presence."

Naruto's growls diminished into a soft rumbling as he thought Itachi's words over in his mind, flipping them together like a puzzle, trying to make sense out of them. His eyes lowered to the ground of the clearing, slowly fading back to blue, and though he didn't say anything, Itachi started lifting his hand in front of his chest. "I see... we'll be looking forward to your visit."

As he made this hand sign, his shoulder started dissolving away. Ravens lifted up from his body, breaking away his flesh, all flying up into the air and moving away from Naruto and Jiraya.

The two Konoha shinobi stayed still for a few moments after Itachi's departure, watching as all of the ravens vanished from their sight. Jiraya turned to Naruto hesitantly, measuring whether or not he was able to handle this on his own. He didn't say anything to him but he simply stood there, waiting for his pupil to say something.

Naruto looked up, "Let's go back to Konoha. We have to talk with Tsunade-Baachan." He stood up slowly, his knees still shaking.

"There's no avoiding it, I guess."

The two Konoha shinobi caught each others gaze and nodded to themselves, "Let's go. We have to get Sakura back."

* * *

**A/N– I can't choose between 'yeah' or 'hmm' for Deidara. I don't want to use 'un' because it kinda looks weird to me. Anyway, tell me what you think would be better. Sorry this took so long. I was almost done with it and then my computer deleted it so I had to rewrite the whole thing. Dx**


	6. Chapter Five: Breakfast Please

**Clay Roses**

_Chapter Five - Breakfast Please _

(Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

_Okay! I think it's unanimous! Deidara will now say 'yeah' at the end of his sentences. The vast majority of my reviews said he should. But if it sounds really strange to me, I will have him say 'hmm'. I hope all of you are okay with that. Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

_Naruto looked up, "Let's go back to Konoha. We have to talk with Tsunade-Baachan." He stood up slowly, his knees still shaking._

"_There's no avoiding it, I guess."_

_The two Konoha shinobi caught each others gaze and nodded to themselves, "Let's go. We have to get Sakura back."_

* * *

"I swear, my head is going to _explode_ soon if I don't get this done."

The Hokage's office was dark, Tsunade had drawn the curtains hours before and the only source of illumination was a small office light that was put on her desk (courtesy of Shizune, of course).

Papers were scattered all across the great wooden desk, the surface wasn't even visible under the thin sheets and forms.

The Hokage groaned in frustration, she had much more important tasks to complete than fill out paperwork. Sakura was still missing and it seemed that the whole village didn't care one bit. Sake bottles sat full inside her desk drawers; she willed herself to stay sober while she thought about the current events. Getting drunk just to drown her grief wasn't the best idea she had at the moment.

On the opposite side of the room, the door opened to reveal Tsunade's personal assistant. Her face was twisted in concern for her Master and she walked in, "Tsunade, would you like me to help you?" Her soft voice drifted across the room, she must have known that Tsunade would _probably _bite her head off if she distracted her for one second.

Another sigh came as Tsunade continued to scribble through the forms on her desk, she didn't acknowledge Shizune's inquiry. Without Tsunade's consent, Shizune walked further into the office, taking a seat in one of the chairs provided in front of the desk. "Tsunade, you should come up with a team to look for Sakura," she started, keeping her voice light and her eyes averted, "I think the elders will understand."

Tsunade looked up at her assistant for a moment before continuing, "I know, Shizune. I just can't concentrate on the topic for too long..." With a paper filled out, she placed it into a neat pile at the corner of the desk.

Shizune looked at Tsunade and was about to speak before the heavy doors burst open easily, "Tsunade-Baachan!!"

Instantly, said woman flinched as she recognized the voice, but was shocked for the same reason;

Naruto was _back_?

* * *

'_This is absolutely ridiculous... I'm starving for God's sake.'_

Sakura crossed her arms over her chest, closely mimicking her Kyuubi teammate. She and Deidara had been in the kitchen for only two minutes, and during that time span, the pair had been glaring heatedly at each other.

Previously, Deidara had tried to be a gentleman and asked the kunoichi if she wanted lunch. Sakura, being the typically stubborn person she is, argued that he would probably poison it and declined his offer. This resulted in Deidara losing his patience and thus, he began glaring at the girl at the wooden table, who had also started glaring at the clay sculptor.

And since both shinobi were too stubborn for their own good, they each refused to look away.

Honestly, Deidara thought he would win the unofficial 'glaring contest' because he was an oh-so-intimidating Akatsuki member, but was immediately surprised at how fearsome the kunoichi's stare was. It was as if she would lash out and bite off his head at any moment.

With his eyes still trained on Sakura, Deidara asked, "Okay then, would you like to make your _own_ lunch, yeah?"

Sakura would have rolled her eyes had she not have convinced herself to keep eye-contact, but she simply answered, "Yes, I would." She stood up quickly, not bothering to push in her chair as she walked further into the kitchen where the cabinets were. Figuring that this would be a good excuse, she looked away to the cabinets to shuffle through them.

Behind her, Sakura heard the blonde man behind her snicker.

She truly thought she would burst an artery. Pulling out a box of cereal, she decided to ask, "Something funny?" Though she _did_ have a good idea. _'Probably gloating that I looked away...'_

The light laughter stopped as Deidara spoke, "No, yeah." His voice was slightly humored as he fought to keep himself from chuckling.

"Which is it? Yes or no?"

"No, yeah."

'_Ruptured arteries...' _Sakura thought,"_One_ answer please."

"_No_ was my answer, yeah."

Forgetting what the whole conversation was about, Sakura decided to poke some fun at the ex-Iwa shinobi, "You know, that little habit of your's is quite strange."

Deidara's eyes opened a fraction, "Habit? What habit, yeah?"

Sakura could barely contain her laughter, "Y-you mean you've never noticed it?"

The artist's eyebrow twitched, "Apparently not, why else would I be _asking, yeah_?!"

Hiding her face in her hands, Sakura started to giggle madly. A streak of pale pink washed across her cheekbones in her mirth.

Deidara, to say the least, was _not_ amused. His lips were pressed into a firm line and the glare from before was returning tenfold at the laughing girl in front of him. Then, realizing that if he got angry that it would probably make things much worse, Deidara scrutinized what Sakura was eating, "You're having cereal for _lunch, _yeah?"

Composing herself with a huge smile on her face, Sakura rifled through cabinets and drawers, finally pulling out a bowl, "Well, what if I _want_ cereal for lunch? Are you going to stop me?" She stopped her search long enough to place the bowl she had found at her place at the table.

"Milk... spoon." Sakura mumbled as she, once again, made her way back into the kitchen, making sure Deidara stayed put. "Plus, who says I can't have cereal for lunch? It's food, I'm hungry, I'm _going_ to eat it."

Deidara leaned up against a wall, "Fine, I'm just saying that it's _usually_ a breakfast food, yeah."

As Sakura located the items needed to eat her meal, she sat down and dug in, finally realizing how hungry she was.

The two shinobi stayed silent; Sakura too busy eating to talk and Deidara... just didn't _want_ to talk. Overall, lunch was quite uneventful.

* * *

"Do I _really_ have to go back to that room? It's... dark."

"What? Are you scared, yeah?"

Sakura frowned, "No. I just get a little ticked off when I can't see my own _hands_. Let alone the rest of the room."

After lunch, Kisame had come into the kitchen and told Deidara to put the little cherry blossom back in her room. Sakura openly showed her distaste for the room by reciting some colorful language and refused to go back into it. Kisame and Deidara were both indifferent to Sakura's distaste for the room and told her that she'd go back no matter what. Kisame had gone back to wherever he was before and now, here they were, Deidara and Sakura walking down the cold hallway, matching frowns etched onto their faces.

"It wouldn't hurt to invest in a _candle_ or something, right? Or some kind of lighting fixture?"

Deciding not to answer, Deidara glared at the babbling girl next to him.

Another moment of silence passed as they walked. Sakura, naturally, was the one to break it, "Does anyone even know I'm gone?"

Deidara's arm flinched imperceptibly at this, hearing the grief in her voice, "I don't know, I wasn't the one who kidnaped you, now was I, yeah?" His eyes averted straight ahead.

Sakura didn't say anything, the entirety of the situation hitting her at full force. If she wasn't found in a few weeks, she would be declared a missing-nin as well.

Then no one would want her back. Just like Sasuke.

Then it came to her, the letter they sent to Tsunade said they had information on Sasuke. Could that be true? It couldn't possibly be...

"Hey... is it true that you know where Sasuke is?" she looked toward the door she had previously come out of, "I mean, the letter said so." She tried to mask her voice as uncaring or indifferent. Though Deidara could probably read her like an open book with really big letters.

The artist laughed without humor, "Are you kidding? That was just part of the plan to get you here, yeah."

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura's mouth hung open, "And what do you want with me?!" she screamed while starting to raise her fist, knowing full well that she hadn't enough chakra to deal much damage.

"We have our reasons." Sakura heard his voice becoming annoyed. "We don't need to tell you , yeah."

He did have a point, she supposed, "But I think it would be nice."

His eyes traveled to Sakura, "I never said I was nice, yeah."

After the pair reached Sakura's quarters, Sakura stood outside the door hesitantly, by all means stalling so she wouldn't have to endure the torture of darkness again. Almost unnoticeably, her hands started to shake, "Honestly, you don't have any lights I could use?"

Deidara stared down at her wordlessly.

"Please?" she coated her words with desperation.

The artist narrowed his eyes venomously at the kunoichi, "I'll see what I can do. But for now you have to stay in that room until said otherwise, yeah." He pulled the door open to her chambers and pushed her on the back with force, causing her to stumble forwards into the inky black room, "We'll see what we're going to do about your dinner tonight." He sneered, "Until then, enjoy, yeah?"

Sakura cringed as the door slammed shut, closing her eyes tight. _'Well, isn't this pleasant?'_ she thought mockingly.

Her hands groped along the floor for the futon. Finding it, Sakura climbed up onto her only comfort in the small room, letting the day's events fully seep in.

Hot tears slipped down her face, staining wet streaks from her eyes to her chin. Maybe when she woke up it would all have been a terrible dream. It was the most she could wish for, after all. She could tell that they weren't going to let her go anytime soon from the way that they acted towards her. Not even awake for more than an hour and she could tell that her stay with the Akatsuki was going to be just _loaded_ with excitement. She hid her head into her crossed arms, letting out a rather long sigh.

This is going to be absolutely lovely.

* * *

**Sorry for the late update, lots and lots of school work. That should explain almost everything...**

**I'm still thinking of ideas, feel free to shout 'em out! I don't know how long this story is going to be, but if I had to make a rough guess right now, I'd say more than ten chapters. Maybe more, but probably not less. I have lots of stuff planned for our peeps in Konoha. And don't worry, Mai, Tancho, and some Akatsuki members are going to show up later. We can't forget about them. **

**If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability!**


	7. Chapter Six: Battle Plan

**Clay Roses**

_Chapter Six - Battle Plan_

(Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

_Oh my goodness. I am so sorry I made you wait so long for the last chapter. Both my beta and myself have been busy with our own things lately. My grades have slipped a lot due to my lack of effort... and my mom has been PO'd. But! I hope this chapter lets you all forgive me._

* * *

_Not even awake for more than an hour and she could tell that her stay with the Akatsuki was going to be just loaded with excitement. She hid her head into her crossed arms, letting out a rather long sigh._

_This is going to be absolutely lovely._

* * *

A few years had passed since Naruto's departure from Konoha. And at this moment in time, he was the last person Tsunade was expecting to come through her office door.

"N-Naruto!" blinking her eyes a few times, the Hokage sat open-mouthed at her desk, Shizune closely mimicking her.

A brief smile flashed across his face in greeting, but soon turned into a pressed line in his seriousness. "Tsunade-Baa, Sakura has been kidnaped!"

The blonde woman's face fell. "Well thank you for that little tid-bit of information, Naruto. But sorry, we already knew that..." she explained, her eyes dropping to her desk.

"But, Tsunade, we have to get Sakura back! Who _knows_ what Akatsuki is doing to her? They're probably torturing her in some type of dungeon... thing."

Tsunade stood, slamming her palms on the top of her great wooden desk, "Naruto, I will not have you make decisions for me!" Naruto stood firmly in his spot. "I will be sending some ANBU soon, but I still have no clue when I'm sending them or what our plan of action is."

The kyuubi vessel aimed his gaze toward the ground, not knowing how the Hokage would react to his news, "Well, Tsunade..." he looked up to her stern face, "I talked to Itachi yesterday."

Tsunade's arms grew weak, her eyes widening as her mouth dropped slowly. "W-what? Why didn't you tell me this before?!" She motioned for Shizune to take notes while keeping her eyes trained on Naruto.

Narrowing her eyes, Tsunade kept her voice strained, "Tell me everything you heard and said. We can't waste any details."

* * *

It didn't take too long to tell Tsunade all that had happened, so Naruto had finished explaining quite quickly, much to their relief.

"I see... only five days? And he only wants you to come." Feeling unsure, she turned back to her paperwork. "We can't risk sending you because of the Kyuubi, but we can send some ANBU and high level jonin." her fingers sifted through a stack in front of her.

An audible clench of teeth clacked through the room. "Tsunade-Baa, you _have_ to send me. I already feel bad enough I couldn't save one friend..." He directed his eyes to the Hokage's, "I think it's time I actually kept a promise."

"Naruto..." Tsunade began, "I know how you feel, but you know how dangerous it is for us to send you. If you make only _one _mistake and get captured, not only us but the _world_ may be in danger." She caught herself staring at her sake drawer.

"I know I sound terrible for saying this, but I think that if you go... we might just lose both of the most important things to us. The world... and Sakura."

The forgotten Shizune cleared her throat, alerting the two others in the room to presence, "But what would the world be without Sakura?" she challenged, her attention suddenly averted to her feet.

The two blondes contemplated this, understanding what the Hokage's apprentice was saying.

Sakura is more important to them than the world itself.

Tsunade let out a long sigh and was silent for a moment, "Thanks, Shizune." she breathed. Her eyes locked onto Naruto's, "Naruto... as I said earlier, I know how you feel. But you _do_ understand the severity of the situation right?"

"Yes, Tsunade."

"And you _do_ understand what would happen if you were to be caught?"

"...Yes, Tsunade."

The Hokage threw an unreadable glance toward Shizune. Silence enveloped the room for a moment, until another one of Tsunade's stressed sighs filled the room. "Naruto, I am... willing to let you go." she paused to let Naruto express his joy (in the form of much jumping and screaming). "But, I have only one condition..."

Naruto stopped in his doings to turn to Tsunade, his previously ecstatic face pulled into one of utmost seriousness. He didn't need to ask for her to continue.

"The only condition to let you go..."

"Just bring Sakura back safe."

* * *

It was dark again. Same place she was in a few hours ago... probably wasn't going to change anytime soon.

Sakura stretched largely, feeling the muscles in her back expand and contract. _'I think it's morning...' _a moment passed of silence. _'I think..."_

'_**Of course you think! Do you see any windows? A clock?! No! Just go back to sleep.'**_

Her inner mind spoke some sense it seemed. Complying, Sakura let herself fall back down onto the russet futon, her blush colored hair fanning out over the rough fabric.

If she ever gets out of here alive, she'll probably be lazier than Shikamaru. Maybe...

A harsh knock erupted through the room; she didn't even flinch nor did she acknowledge it. If someone wanted to come in, they would. Prisoners don't have a say.

As she thought, the person out in the hall opened the door. Light once again flooded the dark room and Sakura curled up tighter against the wall; hiding her head in her arms.

"Hey!" she recognized the voice as Deidara's, smooth but rough, "Wake up, kunoichi, yeah..." he grumbled and she heard him cross the room toward her.

Sakura didn't move the slightest. Not wanting to look at him.

"Fine, yeah, I guess you don't want your candles."

Her eyes moved toward the voice, but her head stayed in place. _'Candles...'_ Candles were wonderful. Candles meant light. But the nice thought didn't give her the energy she thought it would have.

She heard him sigh, and put the candles on a small table in the corner of the room, "The Leader has sent me to "babysit" you." The sound of the door closing next to her startled her slightly, but she stayed still, hoping her wouldn't come any closer. "Honestly, I think he did that on purpose, yeah. Just to torture me."

"Hm." was Sakura's intelligent reply.

"'Hm' is right. Every time I look at you, I get so angry, yeah. But he told me I'm not allowed to kill you. No matter how much I may want to." Deidara spat, and Sakura could practically feel the glare directed at her.

The pink haired shinobi stayed silent again. Talking back to someone like him could probably get her killed. Especially since she had no chakra left in her body. That fact alone would most likely guarantee it.

She shifted a bit to get comfortable, knowing very well that he would be here for a while. "Lovely." she replied. No, it wasn't lovely in the least, but she could not oppose.

"Hm." he grunted.

After an hour, or was it ten minutes? Deidara started to get restless, she could hear his fidgety movements. Sakura was getting fed up. "Would you like to leave?" she asked quietly, her voice a little hoarse.

"Actually, I would, yeah. But Leader told me that I have to watch you and tell you a few things for the time you're here."

"Well then, would you like to tell me those things?"

"The less I talk to you would be a blessing, but my Leader wishes to see me suffer. So I guess I should tell you, yeah." Sakura kept silent, letting him continue. Deidara stood up, "While you're here, you shall be the "maid" if you will. You will cook for the organization and clean each room in the base, yeah.

"Once every other day or so, Kisame should stop by to give you a regular chakra sap. We wouldn't want our dear little prisoner using any shinobi skills, yeah? Struggling or failing to comply will result in punishment, courtesy of Kisame. He shall choose whatever punishment he chooses and I'm sure the ones he pick are far from enjoyable, hmm." Sakura could hear the smirk on his voice, "For you at least."

The girl let out a low growl from deep in her throat. Hoping by all that is good that Deidara didn't hear it.

Unfortunately, Akatsuki were still shinobi and Deidara was by her side in an instant, boot pressed forcefully on her back. "What was that, kunoichi? Hmm?"

Sakura struggled to breathe, Deidara's foot squeezing her lungs. "Oh, don't even try to escape from here, yeah. If you even _try_, we will find you; and Kisame won't be the one punishing you then." With a final push on her back, the Akatsuki member lifted his foot back. "Kisame will be in here later, yeah. Don't be surprised if he doesn't knock. Not everyone is as nice as me."

After the door slammed closed, Sakura rolled onto her back slowly; allowing precious air to flow into her lungs easily. Her eyes closed as well and she smirked.

Ha! Just as she thought she was about to pass out, too! Thank goodness...

* * *

After a few calls and lots of running to apartments across the village, all the requested ANBU were standing shoulder-to-shoulder in Tsunade's office. The line was ordered as follows:

First, the Leader of the squad; Shikamaru Nara.

Second and third, the Hyuuga cousins; Hinata Hyuuga and Neji Hyuuga.

Fourth, the weapons mistress, Tenten.

Fifth, the bug user, Shino Aburame.

Naruto stood in front of them, facing the Hokage's desk. "Is this all? Can we go now?" His eyes grew comically big and pleading, hoping Tsunade would let them leave right that instant.

"Well, we still have to get a hold of Suna." she locked eyes with the leader of the ANBU squad, "Shikamaru, if all goes well, the back-up will meet us at the border of Iwa, near the Grass. Make sure to lead the squad there and wait a while. If they do not show up, keep going."

"Do you know who is coming?" he asked, obviously bored out of his mind.

"No, but I'm sure they'll send some ANBU. Do not fret." Tsunade said jokingly.

"Alright! Does that mean we can go now?" Whined Naruto.

The blonde woman behind the great wooden desk nodded. "Hai, head out guys and ladies. Bring Sakura back safe. Dismissed!"

And all at once, the six shinobi disappeared...

* * *

Once again, shadows flew through the trees at top speed. The first one, respectively the leader, whispered to his companions. "It's going to take us a while to get to Iwa. Judging by our speed, I'd say about two days without breaks.

"Shino, do your bugs know exactly where Sakura is being held?"

The bug user nodded infinitesimally, "Yes. I may also add we should go slightly southeast." Automatically, the group shifted their positions to Shino's command.

"Okay... keep us in check, Shino." Shikamaru looked ahead to jump off a branch, "We're going to keep going until we get to Taki; where Sakura was taken. We will rest there and continue again tomorrow."

"No! We can't stop. We have to get there quickly!"

"Naruto, don't whine, and keep your voice down. What good is our team in battle if we are tired? We need to sleep and rest our bodies. Otherwise, we may die trying to save Sakura." Shikamaru retorted. "That will do us no good."

Grumbling, Naruto continued forward. Knowing very well that Shikamaru spoke sense.

For a while, the squad was silent, concentration on the area around them and jumping on the correct branches. "Surprisingly, we're almost halfway to Takigakure." Neji said quietly. "We are going quite quickly."

Tenten edged closer to Neji, "At least Gai-sensei isn't here. He wouldn't let us take a break at all until we got there." she said, eyeing the thick veins on the Hyuuga's temples.

"Hmm." he agreed, not looking at the girl beside him.

Tenten's face fell a bit but then looked ahead again, making sure she didn't ram her head into a low hanging branch.

The other Hyuuga lept over to Shino, matching his pace perfectly. They jumped together in silence until Shino spoke up, "Did you need anything, Hinata?"

A blush crept onto her face, "N-no." she surprised herself by her stuttering, "I just wanted some company."

The bug user nodded again, looking toward the others in front of him. "We're almost there. Do you have your soldier pills? You need to stay healthy so our teamwork remains strong."

It was Hinata's turn to nod, "Hai, I remembered everything." Her eyes strayed towards her feet.

"Guys, quiet down! We may be in our own country, but there could always be enemies hiding." Shikamaru hissed. "No talking until we get to Taki."

The ANBU behind him nodded in respect. "Good, keep going guys. We're going to save Sakura."

* * *

**Phew! Another chapter out. Please don't kill me if it sucks, I don't know where my beta disappeared to, lol..**

**At least this one came out quicker than the last one, I guess. But hey, it's longer!**


	8. Chapter Seven: Smile

**Clay Roses**

_Chapter Seven - Smile_

(Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto. But I do own the original characters.)

_That last chapter came out pretty fast. Plus, it was quite long so it should make up for the suckiness of this one... I hope._

* * *

"_Guys, quiet down! We may be in our own country, but there could always be enemies hiding." Shikamaru hissed. "No talking until we get to Taki."_

_The ANBU behind him nodded in respect. "Good, keep going guys. We're going to save Sakura."_

* * *

Hours seemed to have passed since Deidara had left her quarters, but inside Sakura knew it must have only been about... twenty minutes. But after he had left, she had lit some candles. Luckily they were rather large so they wouldn't waste away to nothing too quickly.

Though there was light in her room, she still felt as though something was wrong. The candles didn't give her nearly enough satisfaction as they very well should have.

Company, she needed someone to be there with her. Sakura was one of those people that need attention and someone to talk to all the time. Solitude most definitely was not something she looked forward to.

The dull light of the candles flickered shadows on the walls, forming frightening shapes and designs. She stared passively into the fire, watched as the flame licked the air around it.

The kunoichi jerked violently as the door to her cell slammed open. Pure white light from the hallway filtered in again and Sakura frantically blew the candles out. She could tell the dark mass in the doorway was none other than Kisame. Who else was that tall? What was he, seven feet?

"Hey, little cherry blossom," his sharp fangs glistened threateningly. "I'm sure our little artist told you I was coming."

Sakura eyed the large shape perched on his back, knowing very well that he would be using it during his visit. Of which she hoped would be a rather short one. A bag swung in his huge hands. Quite curious really, Kisame didn't strike her as a bag-carrying kind of man. "I brought you some gifts." He tossed the bag onto the table unceremoniously where the candles were. She saw fabric peek out of the corner. "I'm sure you'll love them." He tugged the sides of the bag and dumped it upside down, letting the contents spill onto the table.

Every single article of clothing in that bag made her furious.

She watched as Kisame picked up a black shirt, "Does this look familiar?" Indeed it did. A black T-shirt; the sleeves, mid-section, and the v-cut neckline were made of mesh, commonly found in shinobi clothing.

The official Akatsuki-style under clothes, complete with pants.

She took hold of the fabric, her anger rose, "What? Do you think I'm going to join the organization?" she hissed in displeasure.

"No, I'm just following the orders of my Leader." He answered, picking up the next article and holding it out to her.

Sakura's mouth flew open and a blush spread like wildfire over her cheeks." A-are you kidding me, a _French maid_ outfit?!"

Kisame answered with a deviant grin, "This one is my personal favorite."

She glared down at the dress. Kisame was the one member of Akatsuki that she thought wouldn't hit her without thinking twice. He might even enjoy getting a rise out of her, making her so angry and flustered that she yells. Holding the black fabric up to her frame and grimacing, a thought flew through her mind. "How do you know my sizes?" she asked suspiciously. An innocent enough question, she'd say.

The shark man chuckled, "We have very good eyes." He replied simply, locking his beady black eyes with her jade ones.

Blushing, Sakura turned away and started picking on the maid outfit, "I will only wear this if I can modify it..." her voice ground out. She ripped off the frilly white apron, surprised when the dress fell in two parts. "I am _not_ wearing this stupid apron."

Kisame sighed, "Now look at what you did. This maid outfit is a bit different, it is held together by the apron, it's not a one piece deal." He leaned against the wall. "But that's fine. I'm sure the guys won't mind."

"That is... perfectly fine. My stomach will just be showing. Big deal..." She threw the apron back into the bag. "I'm also not wearing the hat or the gloves." To make her point, she threw both items back into the bag with the apron.

"That's fair." Picking the bag up he said, "But you're going to have to change out of the clothes you're wearing now." It was then that she noticed what she had on. All her ANBU gear was stripped and she was left wearing her navy blue ANBU shirt and pants. Vaguely, she wondered where her clothes and weapons were, but she immediately waved it off. It didn't really matter now.

She plastered a fake smile onto her lips, "I will change after you leave."

"Fine, fine. But change into the maid one. We're going to have you do some cleaning today." Sakura watched as the walked to the threshold. "Oh yes, I almost forgot..." Horror stricken, the kunoichi saw as he turned, gripping the large sword on his back, the Samehada he called it. "Time to drain your chakra a bit more. Wouldn't want you building it up and trying to escape now do we?"

She remembered what Deidara said to her earlier:

"_Struggling or failing to comply will result in punishment, courtesy of Kisame. He shall choose whatever punishment he wants and I'm sure the ones he pick are far from enjoyable, hmm. For you at least."_

So she stood there, shuddering and waiting for the terrible feeling of having her chakra ripped from her chakra channels.

"You might want to sit, unless you feel like falling and cracking your skull open. Blood is hard to clean up; it stains." suggested the ex-Mist Nin.

Obeying, Sakura sat on the cold ground under her and she awaited the pain that was sure to ensue...

* * *

By now, it was raining in Takigakure. The ANBU squads rested in the Waterfall country that night, so they kept going. As the sun rose, Naruto was already awake, anxious to start the day in search of Sakura. He could tell the others were beginning to wake as well.

Shikamaru's voice wafted from a tree in front of him, "Guys, wake up. Time to head out." the scratchiness in his voice was hard to miss. Several groans of displeasure rose from random trees but soon all the ANBU complied, forgetting their own wants and waking out of their groggy state. Naruto spoke up, "You heard him, let's get going!" He leapt out of his tree, waiting for the others in the clearing below. In no time at all, the rest of the squad were down in the clearing, half of them looked like they were still sleeping.

One of them was Shikamaru, though it's not a surprise since he always looked tired. "Calm down, Naruto. We're going to leave shortly. If any of you wish to clean up a bit, do so now." he turned to Shino as Tenten and Hinata went to the river, "Shino, I need to talk with you."

Neji, realizing he wasn't needed headed over to where the girls were by the river. Shino responded to his squad leader, "Yes, Shikamaru?" he asked quietly.

"Which direction are we going to be traveling in? I need to know exactly where we are going so that when we arrive, we can ease into battle quickly. I have everything thought through but we still need to focus on how smooth this goes." He tilted his head upwards towards the thin morning clouds that hung as airy wisps in the sky, "We have no room for mistakes."

The bug user stayed silent for a moment, "Sakura is very important to so many people. One mistake could ruin everything..."

After a while, Naruto walked over to the two shinobi, his face was strained with worry. "Can we leave _now_? The sun is getting higher."

"Hai." he shifted his body slightly, "Come on, people. We should get going." In an instant Neji, Hinata, and Tenten appeared before them. "As Tsunade-Dono has said, we should be meeting the Suna troops up near the Iwa border. We'll meet them and continue on to where Shino's kikai have found Akatsuki's headquarters." He nodded to Shino.

"Once we get there, we will hide in whatever shrubs or wooded areas we can find and we'll have Hinata and Neji look for traps with Byakugan." The Hyuuga cousins nodded identically. "Depending on who the Suna sends, we will have them and Tenten disarm any traps or illusions they may have set up discreetly." Tenten pressed her lips into a straight line.

The lot stood quietly. "Everyone got that?" they all nodded in understanding. "Good." he rubbed the back of his neck, "I don't want to go over it again. Let's go."

The five ANBU and Naruto flitted through the trees. Navigating to where Akatsuki was holding Sakura, their friend, hostage...

* * *

"Sakura, as you may know, you are now the new maid of Akatsuki headquarters. And as such, you will be cooking our meals and cleaning rooms. Of which include the kitchen, common room and every member's quarters." Sakura slouched unhappily, listening to everything Itachi had to say.

"In some rooms you will be given a chaperone. You may be our maid but you are still our enemy." He drawled on, his voice staying as monotonous as the topic.

'_Understood, Itachi, I need a babysitter.'_ she thought grudgingly. Deep in her mind Inner Sakura raged loudly, _**'Shannaro! Why should I need I need a chaperone?!'**_

"Your first rooms today will be the kitchen and our member Tobi's room." He walked slowly over to the pink haired woman. "You will be given a chaperone in his quarters. God knows what he has in there." He muttered, shifting his eyes slightly to the wall next to him. "Do you understand everything?" Red eyes locked with green.

"Yes, sir." the pair stood there for a while until Sakura raised her hand, "Uh... is there a place with cleaning products... a duster, broom,_ anything_?"

Itachi told her exactly where her materials were and sent her in the direction of them. There she collected everything she would need. Her materials consisted of some kind of multi-purpose cleaner which she doubted was really _'multi-purpose'_ as the name suggests. A rag and a duster that looked like a rabid gerbil got a hold of it.

Absolutely fantastic.

Luckily, the kitchen didn't take all too long to clean since it looked like the members rarely used it. They probably lived off of soldier pills or restaurants in a local village. After much asking around, Sakura found Tobi's room. At first, she was going to ask someone where her chaperone was but she shrugged it off. She didn't want supervision anyway.

And to her completely wonderful surprise, her chaperone was already waiting for her in the room. Who else other than her favorite person, Deidara?

Inwardly she groaned, the less time she spent with someone who hated her, the better. He even said it himself, he wants to kill her. Why in the world would they make _him_ her chaperone? Of all people? Honestly, even _Kisame_ would have sufficed.

Sakura walked past the blonde man, heading toward a small chair on the side of the room and placing her cleaning items in it. Deidara cleared his throat, "How do you like your new job, yeah?" his eyes raked over her new attire, "The maid look really works for you, doesn't it?"

The kunoichi felt her cheeks heat up and she knew she was blushing. Wearing this stupid outfit was so embarrassing and it made her furious that they forced her to do this. Even as a prisoner she shouldn't be exposed to such extreme doses of humiliation.

"Thanks, I guess." she mumbled, pulling the duster out of the chair. She didn't like talking to him, it was that simple. Walking over to a bedside table she dragged the duster over it a few times. As Deidara moved to sit on the bed, Sakura watched warily out of the corner of her eye, "Why do I need a chaperone?" she swept the duster across the tabletop violently. It didn't go unnoticed as the artist narrowed his eyes at the back of her head. "I'm a big girl; I think I can handle it."

Sakura heard him chuckle (she noticed that Akatsuki never really _laugh_), obviously finding her ignorance humorous. "It wasn't _my_ decision to be your chaperone, yeah. Or have your forgotten? I'm your official babysitter so I was automatically chosen. I had no word in the matter, yeah." Mischievous eyes watched her as she finished dusting, "I _know_ you're happy to see me. I wish I could say the same, yeah." he looked indifferently out the window.

Sakura rolled her eyes, sighing, "Utterly _ecstatic_." the girl ground out sarcastically. Throwing her duster onto the bed next to Deidara, she headed to the chair to pick up the rag and cleaner. A thick fog of unease filled the room, "What do I do once I finish?" Her inquiry was quite sincere. She hoped they would have something for her to do instead of going back to that horrid room.

But of course, "Go back to your room. We don't want you to clean the whole building toady, yeah." His one visible eye followed her movements as she cleaned off the nightstand. "You need something to do tomorrow as well."

Sakura's face fell miserably, soaking in her situation. This is what she was going to so until they let her go or someone found her? Glorious. This is _exactly_ how she wanted to spend the rest of her time here.

"Tonight you will be let out again to make whoever's here dinner. Not all of us will be in the building tonight, hmm." He trailed off thoughtfully, "I of course will be here, but only because I have to baby-sit a certain pink haired brat, yeah."

A malicious expression darkened her features. She whispered, "Lucky you." Her thoughts wandered to her cooking skills. Not the best of chefs, but certainly better than anything Naruto could conjure up. It was no wonder why he always ate at Ichiraku; if he consumed anything he made, he would probably become ill.

After picking the duster off of the bed, she threw that and the rag and cleaner into the chair she previously had them in. Sakura shooed Deidara off the bed, after which she promptly made it. The room was now slightly cleaner than when she entered.

Deidara grunted by the door, "So I'm guessing you're done, yeah?" he asked, looking toward the pink haired girl for an answer. Nodding slowly, she picked up her materials and headed through the threshold, knowing the way back to her quarters.

Had Sakura seen Deidara's face, she would have seen a brief flash of pity. But that was just it, brief.

As Sakura closed the door to her prison, she started stripping out of her maid outfit. "I really hope I wake up from this nightmare soon. I'm going to go crazy." She pulled on her Akatsuki attire, feeling it was a little too big for her but relishing in the soft feel of the fabric against her skin and the air coming through the mesh. No wonder they wore these clothes, they were outstandingly comfortable.

She lit a few candles on the table, letting her see what she was doing, and after folding her maid uniform she brought one of the candles beside her futon.

Cooking and cleaning wasn't so bad. As long as they didn't torture her and give her ludicrous tasks she would be fine. She slumped onto the russet colored futon, feeling her spine crack a bit into place.

Knowing she had to cook dinner in a few hours, Sakura thought about what kinds of _edible_ food would be in the kitchen. Seeing as how it was an organization full of men, she didn't particularly expect them to be master chefs and have a fully stocked fridge and pantry.

Still, she hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately given the circumstances and she needed as much sleep as she could get. Inner Sakura chided, _**'They can wake me up later. I need sleep.'**_

Letting her first real smile loose since she entered the building, she blew the candle out...

* * *

_**Woo! How about that? I think this is the longest chapter yet. It was so much fun to write. Dun dun dun! The plot thickens. Next chapter will be coming out soon enough. Just have patience.**_

_**(A/N: The chapter was named 'Smile' because Sakura smiled at the end. Just in case any of you were wondering.)**_


End file.
